Teams seek county funds to upgrade stadiums

Bengals, Reds want more than $40 million in upgrades

The fans have come to see the Bengals in training camp, but one of the team's biggest battles won't be in Paul Brown Stadium, but about it.

The team is reportedly seeking about $40 million in repairs and improvements to the 13-year-old stadium over the next decade, including a new scoreboard expected to cost about $8 million.

Hamilton County is responsible for paying for the improvements, although the county is already struggling under the burden of the stadium's original construction costs.

"That's the contract that we have, and we've tried to renegotiate it," said County Commissioner Chris Monzel. "We've sued over it and lost twice."

The county is hoping for some cooperation from the Bengals.

"They know we don't have the money; they see our balance sheet (and) we're not rolling in the dough at the county, so with the money we have, what can we do to work together to accomplish these things," Monzel said.

The Reds agreed to buy their own scoreboard in 2009, but they're now asking for $5 million in improvements to Great American Ballpark in advance of the 2015 All-Star Game.

"We've all been hard hit by the recession," said County Commissioner Todd Portune. "It's just a situation where everybody has to work together and be reasonable, but again, we all have to live within our means."

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